Guía sobre viento y humo

Capítulo 19

Yi Moran seemed to understand her thoughts and did not press her. "It seems we need some time. We'll consider it after you get to know me better."

"...Why? Master Yi, I don't understand..." Why did he suddenly change his attitude and become so close to her?

Yi Moran simply smiled, slowly reaching out to brush away the stray hairs by her ear. It was an intimate gesture that made Que Yue uncomfortable, yet she didn't pull away. Perhaps it was because she was a good match, or perhaps it was because he liked her; the reason wasn't so important.

"Whether it is me or Young Master Di, I will patiently await your choice, Crescent Moon."

His tone suggested he would be happy to see her choose either way. However, Queyue was slightly puzzled and asked, "What does this have to do with Adi?"

Yi Moran's expression froze slightly, then her smile deepened as she slowly withdrew her hand.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Ah Di is such a fool who doesn't even understand the principle of "being close to the water means getting the moon first."

Late at night, Ah Di was in her usual light sleep. Perhaps it was because she had been thinking about it during the day that she was dreaming about it at night. Various images flashed before her eyes: the past, the present, illusions... and perhaps, the future she hoped for.

What were his hopes? Did he want to see Zhijin and Yi Moran get together smoothly, and then leave with peace of mind? Or… deep down, did he actually hope that Zhijin would stay, and that the two of them could continue to support and rely on each other as they walked together…?

He seemed to be jolted awake by his own dreamlike thoughts—had the two of them always been together? This thought might not surprise him. When he initially decided to rescue Zhijin and keep her, wasn't it because he hoped that someone else, who had also abandoned everything or been abandoned by the past, could walk with him on this path...?

There was a slight noise on the roof, and he immediately snapped out of his thoughts—it had come after all. Remembering what Old Rong had said, that his master was already impatient—who could it be? Adi had almost no doubt about that. Looking across the Dark Pavilion, only two people could currently rival him: the Iron Pavilion Master and the current Blood Asura.

Judging from the voices, there was more than one person.

Two...three, a total of three people came.

The Iron Pavilion Master, having personally trained him, naturally knew his capabilities. So… he wasn't entirely confident that Blood Asura could subdue him. But since Blood Asura still had a top-ranked player, being on the defensive would put him in a very precarious situation. The only option was to strike first!

He leaped from the darkness, bursting through the roof tiles and catching them completely off guard.

In a single, unexpected moment, he could take down a person. [Blood Asura] only needed a split second to strike. However, there was another current Blood Asura present.

Blood Asura reacted almost simultaneously and began to counterattack. Blood Asura's strength was almost equal to Adi's, and the two-on-one situation was still disadvantageous for Adi.

Just then, two throwing knives suddenly attacked simultaneously, heading towards Blood Asura and the other person. Blood Asura was distracted and tried to defend himself, but Adi seized the opportunity to strike him, while the other person had already had a throwing knife plunged into his throat. This throwing knife was exactly the same as the one that had saved Queyue in the dance troupe. Adi turned his head and saw Yi Moran's figure flash past in the darkness.

He composed himself and focused on dealing with Blood Asura, eventually capturing him.

Just then, a door under the roof opened, and Ah Di knew something was wrong—Captain Long hadn't left yet and was still in the same room as Ah Di. He had already heard the noise and came out to check.

Although Long Yan had already met Blood Asura, Adi had no interest in letting Long Yan gain this advantage for nothing, capturing Blood Asura and finding out anything about him and the Dark Pavilion. The matter between him and the Dark Pavilion was something only he could resolve.

He quickly sealed Blood Asura's acupoints and threw him into the room through the hole in the roof he had come up from. He used a rather clever technique, and Blood Asura rolled twice after landing before disappearing into the shadows.

"Young Master Di, what happened? Who is it?" Long Yan had already seen A Di on the roof and looked up to ask.

Adi didn't answer, and simply threw the two corpses down.

Long Yan frowned slightly as he looked at the two corpses. "...You...killed them?"

"No, just as I was about to grab them, a throwing knife suddenly flew in and killed them."

Long Yan nodded silently, not needing to delve into whether A Di's words were true or false. That's how it was in Cangzhou as a constable; as long as matters of the martial world didn't harm the government or the common people, they turned a blind eye. Since the dead were night raiders, even if A Di really did kill them, it was just a formality.

He routinely examined the two bodies but found no clues and could not determine whether they were related to Rong Lao'er.

He sighed, "I'll get someone from the government office to handle this tomorrow. Go to sleep."

He had initially thought that Old Man Rong had escaped and was nowhere to be found, and since there was no evidence to prove his guilt, the matter would have to end there. Who knew that things were still not peaceful in this brothel... Hmm, he'd better stay a few more days.

Adi nodded and went back to his room. He glanced at the Blood Asura on the ground; this was indeed a difficult problem to deal with. After confirming that Long Yan had returned to his room, and after waiting for a long time, he picked up the Blood Asura and leaped towards the backyard.

Only now did he realize the inconvenience of the room arrangement—Long Yan was next to him, and Que Yue was next to Yi Moran. He had to be extremely careful with both. After a slight hesitation, he didn't go to Yi Moran's room, but instead headed towards the bamboo forest, where he indeed saw Yi Moran already waiting at the entrance to the secret passage. The two exchanged a glance, said nothing more, opened the secret passage, resealed Xue Xiuluo's acupoints, bound him, and threw them both into the secret room.

Now things are really bad. The spy and Blood Asura are both in Yi Mo Ran's secret room. A Di can foresee that there will be no more peaceful days ahead.

The next morning, officials came and disposed of the body. With the consent of the owner of the clothing store, the matter was dismissed as a feud between江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) members and the government would not investigate it further.

After the officials carrying the body had all left, Long Yan approached Queyue and said, "Zhijin, were you startled? Don't worry, I'm here, there won't be any problems..."

"Captain Long," Yi Moran interrupted him with a faint smile, "Young Master Di's roof is broken. Could you help him fix it?"

"Huh? Why am I..."

"The brothel is full of people who can't lift a finger, so we're really... short-handed. Young Master Di was exhausted from fighting the villains last night, but if you're unwilling to help..."

"How could that be? I'll go right now! Brother Adi, you just rest and leave it to me."

Adi watched as Yi Moran smiled serenely as she saw Long Yan off, while only Long Yan remained unaware of the ulterior motives hidden beneath that smile.

—You...you deliberately instructed Kai Longyan to prevent him from getting close to the brocade, didn't you?

—What, do you want him to get close to the brocade?

Regardless of whether Queyue ultimately chooses himself or Adi, it will only be [himself and Adi], and he will not allow other pests to get close.

Adi's face darkened slightly... Had they encountered someone extraordinary...?

In the following days, almost every time Long Yan was about to say a few words to Que Yue, he was always being asked to help and run around, and he couldn't even touch a piece of Que Yue's clothes.

Aside from the two troublesome individuals in the dark room, the following days were relatively peaceful and leisurely.

Even though they know the crisis won't pass, they still crave this brief peace.

"Master, the cherry blossoms on the mountain outside the city are in bloom! Would you like to go see them?" Liu Zhi ran over excitedly to ask, but it seemed that none of the people present looked particularly expectant...

Speaking of flower viewing... it reminds me of murder cases and dead people... it really doesn't inspire any interest.

Liu Zhi's gaze swept across their faces one by one, finally landing on Yi Moran. She leaned close to him pitifully, "Master~ I've always gone to admire the flowers every year, but this year..."

“Alright, let’s go.” Yi Moran couldn’t do anything about the gossipy Liu Zhi, so she looked at the other three questioningly—Long Yan naturally had no objection, and A Di and Zhi Jin wouldn’t deliberately spoil the fun.

The group, consisting of only a few people, traveled by carriage to the outskirts of the city. The beauty of the cherry blossoms lay not only in their vibrant, chaotic bloom, but also in the decisive and magnificent spectacle of them falling one after another. Queyue stood beneath the cherry tree, dressed in a light pinkish-green dress that contrasted beautifully with the newly sprouted cherry leaves amidst the falling petals, giving her an air of serene fragrance.

Adi, Longyan, and Liuzhi set up a low table with wine and dishes. Naturally, there was no need for Queyue and Yi Moran, the two injured patients who were under important protection, to do this.

Yi Moran stood not far behind Queyue, watching her. He had always thought that a woman as serene as her should be suited to the tranquility of distant mountains and blue lakes, forgetting that she was also a beautiful woman, standing eternally amidst the almost magnificent falling flowers.

He walked over and gently brushed the fallen petals from her head. For a moment, Queyue was dazed, suddenly understanding why she was drawn to him… He… resembled her father somewhat. She had been sent to the young master's side when she was very young, so young that she couldn't remember what her father looked like. Only in her vague memories did she feel that her father must have been just as composed and serene, like clouds drifting across the sky…

She never reminisced about it, only occasionally thinking about it faintly.

She thought those things had no meaning for her anymore, but it turns out they still affect her feelings.

“Queyue,” he said softly, using this name she hadn’t heard in a long time, instantly pulling her back to the present.

"What are your plans for the future?"

"Intend……?"

"Are you just going to keep wandering around with Young Master Di like this? If that's your intention, you can stay here, and later..."

"What? Is the owner of the clothing store going to take Zhijin in at the brothel?" Long Yan suddenly leaned over and said loudly, "How can that be! Zhijin looks like a girl from a good family. Although the brothel is a respectable place, it is still a place of the night. How can we let a young lady stay here! I have heard that Zhijin's singing skills are quite good. Owner of the clothing store, you really know how to get a good deal!" He turned to Queyue and said, "The food and wine are ready. Zhijin, please sit down."

Before he could lead Queyue to sit down, Yi Moran naturally stepped between the two of them, saying, "Sit here."

Long Yan glanced at Yi Moran with dissatisfaction, then looked up at him again after a while, and looked up again after a while... His dissatisfaction was indeed very obvious... But... have these two forgotten about Adi's existence?

Adi took a sip of his drink in silence, then stood up and walked to Queyue's side.

"Come sit over there."

“Young Master Di, your seat is cramped, it would be too crowded for two people. Why don’t you let Miss Zhijin sit here?”

Queyue raised her head and stood up, but did not go to his side with Adi—did these two think she was easy to bully?

She simply sat down next to Long Yan, sipped her drink alone, and ignored both of them.

Yi Moran was slightly taken aback, then smiled. Adi could only return to his seat and continue drinking in silence.

Long Yan enthusiastically greeted Que Yue, but she only gave a faint, indifferent response. Amidst the falling cherry blossoms, her serene face left Long Yan speechless—no, it should be said that he had been stunned ever since he saw Que Yue in women's clothing. Gazing at her, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Zhi Jin, although I won't rise to any high rank as a constable..."

"Huh?" Queyue didn't understand why he suddenly said something so nonsensical, so she patiently waited for him to finish.

"I've been a constable for quite a few years now... well, I haven't saved up much money before, but my salary is enough to live on, and fortunately, my family is fairly well-off..."

...He said these were...

"Um, brocade, I'd like—"

Chapter 39

"Um, brocade, I'd like—"

“Captain Long,” Yi Moran interrupted him casually, “the wine on the table is finished. Could you please fetch another jar from the carriage?” Although it was a question, her tone seemed to leave no room for refusal.

Long Yan pointed to himself—It's me again?

—Alright, aside from the two "injured" ones, Liu Zhi is thin and small, not yet fully developed, and A Di is drinking alone... Let her go then. It seems she's gotten used to being bossed around by Yi Moran these past few days...

He retrieved the wine from the carriage, sat down, and was about to continue their previous conversation when he said, "Um, about brocade, I think—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was pushed aside. Ah Di, reeking of alcohol, sat between the two of them, picked up the wine jar on the table, and continued to pour and drink in silence.

Liu Zhi, the gossipy woman at the table, almost spat out her drink. She covered her mouth, coughing and chuckling to herself.

"I'm saying, Brother Adi..."

Adi ignored him completely, which puzzled Longyan. Didn't he clearly say that he and Zhijin didn't have that kind of relationship?

After finishing his wine, Adi put his cup on the table. "Finished admiring the flowers? Let's go back." Ignoring the others' opinions, he pulled Queyue up, unloaded the horses from the carriage, and the two of them rode off together.

Long Yan was still staring wide-eyed, completely bewildered, while Yi Moran couldn't help but chuckle amidst the falling petals.

"Master, you still have the leisure to laugh here! Go chase after them..."

Yi Moran did not hide the half-hearted, half-cool smile on her lips. "It's alright, you'll see him when you get back to the manor."

—Isn't that the problem?

"Child, even if you have that kind of spirit, you should still think about going there to get a horse so we can go back."

"Ah—a horse!" Liu Zhi suddenly realized. "Master, you wait here, I'll go into town right away and buy one!" Watching Liu Zhi leave in a hurry, Yi Moran finally turned her gaze back to the direction where Adi and Queyue had gone...

So, he still didn't want to hand over the crescent moon to someone else after all?

The horse jolted along, and all Queyue could smell was the strong stench of alcohol on Adi. Looking up at his face, she saw no signs of intoxication. Adi had never drunk in front of her, so she knew nothing about his alcohol tolerance. But seeing that he seemed relatively sober, why was he suddenly acting so strangely?

The wind blowing in her face stung her slightly, so she could only turn her face to Adi behind her. They had been so familiar with each other for so long that she had never tried to hide it, so she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with the way he held her in his arms.

"Adi, where are you going?"